Sonu Pal, a former assistant manager at IDFC First Bank in Mohali, has been arrested for his role in a major cyber scam in which a woman was cheated of Rs 84.16 lakh. The scam involved a fake “digital arrest,” where the victim was held hostage over a video call and threatened with arrest in a fabricated drug case.
Preeti Yadav, DCP (Cyber), confirmed that Pal, a resident of Sitapur, supplied bank accounts to a gang of fraudsters. He worked with three others—Ram Singh, Narendra, and Akshay—who had been arrested earlier this year. Pal’s name surfaced during the continuing investigation.
The woman, targeted between June 23 and 25 last year, was told she was linked to a parcel containing drugs. The fraudsters posed as law enforcement agents and kept her on a video call for two days. Under pressure and fear, she transferred her savings—Rs 84.16 lakh—to various bank accounts controlled by the gang.
Police said Pal opened an account in Ram Singh’s name and kept control of the account kit. Around Rs 69 lakh was funneled into this account, from which Pal kept a hefty share as commission. The bank has been notified about his involvement.
During questioning, Pal admitted to duping people by promising them benefits from government schemes or urgent loans. He would then keep control of the bank account kits and pass them to cybercriminals in exchange for large commissions. His fraudulent activities have been ongoing since last year.
